McCain still following Goldwater's lead

Senate predecessor admired, yet doubted, upstart McCain

by Dan Nowicki - May. 4, 2008 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic

John McCain still can't escape the shadow of Barry Goldwater, Arizona's original straight-talking Republican presidential candidate.

McCain, who this year became the second Arizonan to clinch the top spot on the GOP ticket, last month paid homage to Goldwater as the state's "authentic maverick" in a speech on the steps of the historic Yavapai County Courthouse.

He was re-creating a scene long synonymous with Goldwater's political campaigns, especially his ill-fated 1964 run for the White House. The details were precise, right down to the sign on the podium. Goldwater once spoke behind a sign proclaiming "Prescott, Ariz., welcomes Barry." On April 5, McCain's placard parroted "Prescott, Ariz., welcomes John."

It's easy to understand why McCain would want to link himself to Goldwater. His five-term Senate predecessor helped invigorate Arizona Republicans, then took on Eastern GOP moderates in a wild battle for the national party's soul. He didn't make it to the Oval Office, but fellow Cold War conservative Ronald Reagan might not have been able to do so in 1980 had Goldwater not laid the groundwork.

McCain, a two-term congressman who hadn't lived in the state very long, won the retiring Goldwater's Senate seat in 1986. He frequently has described the challenge of following such a political giant as a blessing and a burden because it would be difficult for him to match Goldwater's accomplishments or eclipse his stature as Arizona's "favorite son."

Letters now accessible

A file of correspondence reviewed by The Arizona Republic provides some glimpses into the ups and downs of their generally arm's-length relationship. Those writings are now publicly accessible at the Arizona Historical Foundation as part of the Goldwater papers collection.

The iconic Goldwater, who died 10 years ago this month, was simultaneously known as "Mr. Conservative" and "Mr. Arizona." Even today the term "Goldwater Republican" immediately evokes a sense of rugged Western do-it-yourself libertarianism based on the Constitution, limited government and personal freedom.

As he aged into the cranky elder statesman of the GOP, Goldwater displayed an independent streak even fiercer than McCain's. He often aimed his trademark salty remarks at fellow Republicans, particularly those social conservatives who mixed their religion with their politics in an attempt to regulate what Goldwater believed are personal and private decisions. Nearly 20 years before McCain denounced the Rev. Jerry Falwell as one of the Religious Right's "agents of intolerance," Goldwater famously quipped that "every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass."

Goldwater today is revered not only by conservatives but also by libertarians and even some liberals, many of whom are quick to suggest - fairly or unfairly - that McCain does not live up to his legacy.

In his 2002 memoir, Worth the Fighting For, McCain laments that while the "irascible" and "deeply patriotic" Goldwater "appealed to every principle and instinct in my nature," he always got the impression that Goldwater didn't like him much. Or, at least, Goldwater was "never as affectionate as I would have liked," McCain wrote. In the book and in a recent interview, McCain suggested that Goldwater warmed up to him near the end of his life.

"I think basically my father and John had a working relationship," said Barry Goldwater Jr., co-author with former Watergate figure John Dean of a new collection of Goldwater manuscripts titled Pure Goldwater. "I don't think they were buddy-buddy. I think John probably was more aggressive than my father normally liked to see in politics, but, you know, you don't get anywhere by sitting on your butt."

Although Goldwater for years had, in his words, "an affectionate high respect" for McCain's father, the late Navy Adm. John S. "Jack" McCain Jr., he initially was wary of the younger McCain.

"Look, Barry and I did not know each other well at the beginning of our relationship because I was new to the state of Arizona," McCain recalled recently during an interview on his Straight Talk Express campaign bus. "And I didn't know him that well when I was in the House and he was in the Senate, due to the separation."

The wrong foot

It didn't help that McCain almost immediately got into trouble with Goldwater's Senate office.

During his 1982 GOP congressional primary, McCain earned a rebuke for seemingly trying to take some credit for the Army's new Apache helicopter, which a Mesa plant would build. McCain formerly was the Navy's Senate lobbyist. Goldwater actually was crucial to the Apache program.

After winning the nomination, McCain was eager to mend fences with Goldwater. In a Sept. 8, 1982, letter, McCain denied stealing credit for the Apache and tried to explain what happened. He said it was Sen. John Tower, R-Texas, a political ally, and Mesa Mayor Don Strauch who "said some nice things about my interest and involvement in the Apache helicopter" and the testimonials made it into the media.

"I want you to know that I bear no bad feelings toward anyone in this campaign," McCain wrote. "I have always had the highest respect for you personally, as I know my father did."

The 77-year-old Goldwater did not run for a sixth term in 1986.

According to a Senate colleague, Goldwater was rooting for the more seasoned Rep. Bob Stump, R-Ariz., to succeed him, at least at first.

"I can tell you, because Goldwater told me this, he was not for McCain," said former Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., who served with both men. "He was hoping that Bob Stump would announce and be the candidate. He told me that several times, and he was kind of disappointed that Bob didn't do it."

Still, if Goldwater harbored reservations about McCain's hard charge for his Senate seat, he never let on publicly.

On Sept. 10, 1984, he wrote a "Personal and Confidential" letter to Darrow "Duke" Tully, then the publisher of The Republic and its now-defunct sister paper, The Phoenix Gazette. Tully, whose powerful job gave him great influence over Arizona politics, was one of McCain's most enthusiastic supporters.

"The paper carried an editorial some time back highly complimentary to John McCain," Goldwater wrote. "I just wanted to tell you that you are absolutely right. There was a time here when I thought someone else might want to take the opportunity to take my place when I'm no longer in the Senate, but I've never known a man to work so hard to become so intimately associated and acquainted with all the problems of Arizona as I have John."

However, Goldwater expressed concerns to Tully about whether McCain could beat Democratic Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, who at the time also was considering running. In the letter, he wondered if McCain shouldn't hold off and run for DeConcini's seat in 1988. At the time, DeConcini wasn't expected to seek a third term; he did and won.

Goldwater wrote of McCain: "I coach him all I can; I work him into everything I can; he comes to meeting after meeting that has absolutely nothing to do with his district, but which is just a form of preparing himself for the day when he can step into the Senate. He's indeed a remarkable fellow."

Babbitt opted not to run for the Senate, and McCain soundly beat lesser-known Democrat Richard Kimball to win Goldwater's job.

Getting crosswise

During his first Senate term, McCain and DeConcini became embroiled in a high-profile ethics controversy involving the savings and loan industry that became known as the Keating Five scandal.

DeConcini didn't run again in 1994. McCain braced himself for a difficult 1992 re-election fight. As part of his campaign, McCain planned an event titled "Arizona Salutes Barry Goldwater's 50 Years of Service to America."

One problem: Goldwater apparently didn't understand the celebration was a McCain fundraiser, even though McCain sought permission and described the proposed event in a Jan. 31, 1991, letter.

When Goldwater realized it, he demanded that McCain share half the money from "the so-called salute to Barry Goldwater" with the Arizona Republican Party. He also scolded McCain for soliciting "special friends of mine" to take part in his campaign event.

"John, this is not the way I've operated in my political life, and I don't want to start it in my retired life," Goldwater wrote McCain on May 18, 1992. "So, you agree to give half the money to the Republican Party, and this thing can go along. If you don't agree to it, then I'm going to have to give it a lot of good hard thinking."

McCain agreed to help the party, though by Sept. 25, 1992, he still owed $35,000 to the state Republicans and Goldwater had to write him again requesting immediate payment.

"That's the only time I've ever heard of where they got a little crosswise," Goldwater Jr. said.

McCain remembered the spat but said it had no lasting effect on their relationship.

"It was fine," McCain recalled on his bus. "And he came and he gave a very wonderful and moving speech."

McCain told The Republic last month he made a point of getting to know Goldwater over the years, and "we had a very close relationship at the end." McCain cited a final, emotional visit he and his wife, Cindy, made to see Goldwater at his Paradise Valley home just before his death on May 29, 1998, at age 89.

Whom would Barry back?

Would the sometimes-inscrutable Goldwater support McCain's bid for the presidency had he lived to see it? It's pure speculation, but various opinions are emerging.

Dean, a Republican Party critic who collaborated with Goldwater Jr. on Pure Goldwater, emphasized the tension between the two senators. He made the dubious claim April 24 on MSNBC's liberal Countdown With Keith Olbermann that Goldwater probably would like any of the candidates still in the race "except McCain, frankly."

"When I was around my father, I never heard him speak disparagingly about McCain or say anything that wasn't positive about him," Goldwater Jr. said. "I'm sure they had their differences, but I don't think it was anything gross or extraordinary."

McCain can at least take heart that he no longer need worry about ending up as a mere footnote to Goldwater.

In some respects, McCain has outshone his predecessor, said Michael Rubinoff, a former political consultant who now teaches film and media studies at Arizona State University.

"Most importantly, he's more viable to win the presidency than Goldwater was," he said. "In that sense, he is bigger than Goldwater was in his time."